Download Study Guide Chapter 12 – The Atmosphere GPS: S6E3. Students

Study Guide
Chapter 12 – The Atmosphere
GPS: S6E3. Students will recognize the significant role of water in Earth’s processes.
b. Relate various atmospheric conditions to stages of the water cycle.
S6E4. Students will understand how the distribution of land and oceans affects climate and weather.
a. Demonstrate that land and water absorb and lose heat at different rates and explain the resulting effects on weather patterns.
b. Relate unequal heating of land water surfaces to form large global wind systems and weather events such as tornados and thunderstorms.
S6E5. Students will investigate the scientific view of how the earth’s surface is formed.
j. Describe methods for conserving natural resources such as water, soil, and air.
S6E6. Students will describe various sources of energy and with their uses and conservation.
a. Explain the role of the Sun as the major source of energy and the Sun’s relationship to wind and water energy.
1. ________________ is the condition of Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place.
2. Clouds form when ____________ __________ condenses out of the air to form tiny droplets of liquid water
or crystals of ice.
3. By trapping energy from the Sun, the atmosphere keeps most of Earth’s surface warm enough for
___________ to exist as a liquid.
4. _____________ _____________ forms when nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides combine with water in the
air to form nitric acid and sulfuric acid.
5. Because air has mass, it also has other properties, including density and pressure and it exerts a force per unit
area called _________ _______________ which is the result of the weight of a column of air pushing down on
an area.
6. Density can be calculated by using the formula: ___________________________________.
7. A __________________ is an instrument that is used to measure air pressure.
8. ___________________, or elevation, is the distance above sea level, which is the average level of the
surface of the ocean.
9. Since the air is less dense at a high altitude – like a mountaintop, there are fewer ___________ molecules to
breathe in each cubic meter of air than at sea level so you would become short of breath quickly at high
altitudes.
10. Scientists divide Earth’s atmosphere into four main layers classified according to changes in
________________________.
11. The ____________________ is the layer of the atmosphere in which Earth’s weather occurs.
12. The ____________________ is the second layer of the atmosphere and contains the ozone layer.
13. The ozone layer is important because it protects Earth’s living things from dangerous
___________________ ________________.
14. The __________________ is the middle layer of the atmosphere that protects Earth’s surface from being
hit by most meteoroids.
15. The ________________ is the outermost layer of the atmosphere which extends outward into space and is
divided into the ionosphere and the exosphere.
16. Energy travels through space to Earth in the form of ____________________________ waves from the
Sun.
17. An instrument called a _______________________ is used to measure how hot or cold the air is.
18. On the ___________________ scale, the freezing point of pure water is 0o.
19. The transfer of heat energy coming directly from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic waves is called
___________________ .
20. The direct transfer of heat from one substance to another substance that is touching is called
_______________________.
21. The transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid (liquid or gas) is called
______________________________.
22. ___________ are caused by differences in air pressure.
23. Cool air tends to be more ________________ and flows underneath the warm, less dense air forcing the
warm air to rise.
24. The increased cooling a wind can cause is called the ___________ ___________ _______________.
25. The way Earth’s rotation makes winds curve – to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the
Southern Hemisphere - is called the ____________________ ________________________.
26. _______________ are a calm area near the equator where warm air rises.
27. _________ _____________ are calm areas of falling air and am located about 30 degrees north and south
latitude.
28. ______________ _________ blow from the horse latitudes toward the equator. These are steady easterly
winds.
29. _______________ ____________ blow away from the horse latitudes toward the poles. These have a
large impact on the weather in the United States.
30. _______________ _____________ blow cold air away from the poles.
31. ___________ ______________ are found about 10 kilometers above Earth’s surface. They are high bands
of high-speed winds that generally blow from west to east.